


Misunderstandings

by MissSunFlower94



Series: Illustrations of a Wizard in Love [3]
Category: Mairelon the Magician - Patricia Wrede
Genre: Gen, Magician's Ward, richard's pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-11
Updated: 2018-10-11
Packaged: 2019-07-29 14:53:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16266491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissSunFlower94/pseuds/MissSunFlower94
Summary: In Richard Merrill's mind, he and Kim are a perfect team. That doesn't mean they don't argue.My two favorite misunderstandings from Magician's Ward, as seen from Richard's point of view.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was a fic I wrote on Fanfiction.net some eight-ish years ago, and as such I went back and made some language and grammar edits. You can read the original here: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7761476/1/Misunderstandings

Richard Merrill was in a particularly good mood.

The notion of giving his apprentice and ward a proper come-out had come on something of a whim, but it was common enough for him to come up with plans before his mind fully caught up with the reasons behind them that he no longer questioned it. And when he did think about it, it was a very good idea. With it, Kim could be properly respected as the talented wizard-in-training that she was, as she ought to be.

Furthermore, the London Season would be rather a lot more pleasant if Kim was there. She was a breath of fresh air and his partner in crime – in all senses of the term – and with the previous evening’s attempted burglary, it felt right to have her with him should their thief be found.

And, of course, the whole thing thoroughly upset his aunt. What better reasons could he have?

It was in this cheerful mood that he entered the townhouse library, ready to answer whatever questions it was his ward had for him. He suspected it was about the button she'd received from one of the friends from her life on the street. A distress call of sorts? Either way, she'd probably want to see the caller as soon as possible and Richard didn't see anything wrong with that. If Kim knew anything, she knew caution, and he would go with her of course. His smiled absently; the whole scene would look something like their adventures of a year ago. In some ways he missed that – more than five years of running made sitting still a bit of a difficulty.

He found Kim slouched casually in a reading chair. She looked up, seeming to gather her thoughts from wherever they had run off to.

He grinned down at her. "Well, that's settled, more or less. Now, what was it you wanted to ask?"

"Settled?" She asked, sounding a bit startled. "What's settled?"

"The business of presenting you to society," he answered. "Aunt Agatha doesn't like it, of course, but it's clear enough that she'll agree to sponsor you eventually."

"Eventually?" Kim scrunched up her face, likely at the idea of his aunt as her sponsor. Richard was entirely sympathetic, but the amusement of it all won over.

"Right now, she's too furious to agree to anything, but she'll come around as soon as I propose letting Renée D'Auber sponsor you instead. She's far too conventional to let my ward be presented by someone who's not a member of the family."

"You  _enjoy_  annoying her," Kim said.

"Nonsense. It's much too easy – everything annoys Aunt Agatha. Now, you had some questions, I think?"

"Not exactly. It's just you forgot to ask me."

Richard blinked. Sometimes it was easy to get so caught up in his own plots to forget that they involved other people who may wish to be included. However, he could find a reason for this one. "I'm sorry about springing it on you, but I wanted it to be clear to Aunt Agatha that you hadn't been scheming for a come-out all along. It worked too."

"That's not what I meant," Kim said. "That just explains why you didn't  _tell_  me what you were planning. I'm talking about asking me whether I wanted to be launched into society."

He paused, unsure what to make of that. Since they had returned to London after their year of magic lessons in Kent, Kim hadn't seemed herself, and Richard didn't want her to suffer in silence. He wanted to do something. “I didn't think I had to. It's obvious you haven't been happy since we got back to London. I thought you wanted a change.”

"Well, I haven't been and I did want a change but that's not the point,” Kim said testily. “A year ago, I wanted to get off the streets, but I didn't want it badly enough to go to the stews.”

"I should hope not," Richard said, startled – as he often was – by her bringing up the harsher realities of her old life on the streets of London. Whenever she did, even in passing, it made him profoundly glad that she was no longer there. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she was grateful either, so what was upsetting her? “It's not just a matter of presenting you, you know. I'm hoping if we circulate a bit during the Season we'll run across our toff burglar.”

“That's  _not the point_ ,” Kim repeated, sounding if anything _more_ annoyed with him. “A year ago, you  _asked_  me if I wanted to be your ward, when it was a lot plainer I'd jump at the chance. But you didn't  _ask_  me about coming out in Society and you didn't  _ask_  me about 'circulating during the Season.' You're as bad as Mrs. Lowe.”

 _That_ would have been an offending comparison from anyone, as far as Richard was concerned. From Kim, it positively stung. "What?"

"Mrs. Lowe didn't ask me about whether I came to London to catch a husband, she just decided that's what I wanted. Or that it would be best for me. And you didn't ask about this. You both act like I'm some fog-headed mort who ain't got sense enough to make up her own mind about anything."

"I'm sorry," he said, unsure of what else he could say after that speech.

" _I'm sorry_   don't fix it."

"What would? Do you want me to tell Aunt Agatha that you refuse to be presented?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I want."

"Why?" He asked, startled. He hadn't expected that answer. "It's not because of that Hardcastle woman's remarks this afternoon, or the Ternower girl's attitude, is it? Their opinions really don't matter in the slightest."

Honestly, Richard hadn’t really expected any of this conversation.  He was so used to understanding Kim and having her understand him. They did not always _agree_ but misunderstandings were rare; there were times Richard felt as though he and his ward could understand one another without saying a word. He didn't like the idea that this may not always be the case between them.

"Not to you they don't. But I ain't been out with your poker-backed aunt every day for a week without noticing that the opinions of bubble-brains like those two matter a lot to some people. Your aunt, for one."

"And do they matter to you?" He asked, still trying to grasp at something he could make sense of. "Is that why you're so… overset?"

" _No_ ," she said with profound exasperation. "Not the way you mean, not now. But if I were to get launched into Society, their opinions would have to matter, wouldn't they? Because that's what society is, mostly."

Well, that was something he understood for the most part. “What an unfortunately truthful observation. I take your point. I shouldn't have sprung this on you in front of them."

"You shouldn't have sprung this on me at all!" She snapped. "You ought to have asked me about it first, and not just because you thought I'd give you a trimming if you didn't." She paused to catch her breath. "It's my life. And I ain't – I'm not a noodle."

"No one said you were." He said, somewhat helplessly.

"You act like it." Kim shook her head. "Maybe it's just how you toffs are, deciding what other people should do. But I wasn't born and bred to it. I don't like it. And I ain't never going to get used to it." The lapse in her grammar showing that she meant it.

Richard studied her silently for a moment. It was easy enough to tell his aunt that Kim didn't want a come-out, but he found he didn't really want to. He wanted Kim to be presented, he wanted her to feel more comfortable and for Society to treat her with the respect she deserved. He hadn't realized that by doing so he _wouldn’t_ be treating her as such. He shook his head.

"Very well, if you really don't wish to have a come-out, I'll talk to Aunt Agatha again. Tomorrow, I think; that'll give her time to calm down, and I can probably convince her that her excellent arguments persuaded us to reconsider, which might even put her in charity with both of us."

"Good," Kim said. She still sounded uncomfortable and not at all happy. Well, that was just about how he felt as well. He'd never argued with her before, not like this at least. He hoped he wouldn't do so for a very long time, if ever again.


	2. Chapter 2

The awkward, somewhat tense, silence that followed was quickly interrupted, much to Richard's relief. And discussing the robbery – however confusing it was – certainly was a welcome relief, working with Kim as a team again.

"Oh, and that reminds me – Kim, what do you intend to do about that button?" He asked her when it once again occurred to him.

"Button?" She blinked, looking momentarily lost. "You mean, the one Tom Correy sent?"

"Yes, of course. You said it was a sort of summons. Do you want to go?"

Kim seemed surprised he asked, which he supposed was expected. "Tom wouldn't ask me to come if it wasn't important. Of course I'm going, if I can figure out how."

Now it was Richard's turn to be surprised. How was easy; they had both done far more reckless things in the past than visit someone that had _invited_ them. "We'll take the coach. Aunt Agatha won't need it; when I left she was talking about having a spasm, and that generally occupies her for at least a day. Up High Holborn to Threadneedle, isn't it?"

"That's not what I meant," Kim said, but she was smiling his favorite smile; the kind where she was clearly amused in spite of herself. "I meant…" She gestured to herself. Richard focused past her smile and took in for the first time that she had been rather fashionably turned out for the afternoon's ridiculous tea. She looked quite well, he thought, but he understood the problem instantly.

He nodded. "Yes, I see. You can't very well go wandering about the London back streets dressed like that, no matter what time of day it is." Another thought caught up with him. "Particularly if Correy still thinks you're a boy."

"That's it," Kim said, sounding relieved.

"Hunch," he continued to his manservant, who had been silently in the background throughout most of the present exchange. "Do you think you can find a suitable set of boy's clothes? Something a bit better than what she had when we met, but not fine enough to attract attention."

"And loose," Kim put in, and sighed. "I hope it works. I wouldn't fool a blind man in broad daylight, but I might still be able to pass for a boy at night."

"Nonsense. You won't have any trouble at all." Richard said, conveniently forgetting that he had believed her to be a boy for less than a minute when they had first met. Kim looked at him as if he had suddenly sprouted another head and she was equally amused and disturbed by it.

Before he could ask, however, it was Hunch who spoke up. "She's right, Master Richard. Look at 'er. She ain't skinny enough no more."

Richard gave Hunch a startled glance, having not expected the man to have said anything on the matter – or to have noticed anything relating to Kim that he, himself might not know. Then, he obligingly turned to his ward to consider her carefully. It took a moment before he realized that what Hunch meant, specifically; that Kim had filled in as, well… as a woman.  _How had he missed that?_  He thought, chagrined. It felt glaringly obvious now that he'd had it pointed out. And he'd told her she looked like a boy.

"I… see. I apologize, Kim." He realized he was looking at her altogether too long and turned back to Hunch. "Do as well as you can, Hunch."

"Cook might 'ave somethin' from the last errand boy," Hunch replied. "I'll check."

"Don't forget something equally disreputable for me," Richard called after him as he left to do as he said.

He turned back to find Kim staring at him again. "You expect to come with me?"

That was a question? "I  _am_  your guardian," he pointed out. Furthermore, he was her partner for this sort of thing.

Oblivious to that thought, Kim's face settled back into its earlier scowl. "If that means that I get no say in anything I do, I'd rather go back to the streets," she said with heat.

Richard stared, momentarily stunned beyond words. That was the last, the very _last_ , thing he'd ever expected to hear from Kim, and equally unexpected was how much it hurt. He knew she hadn't been entirely happy back in London, but he didn't think it had been that bad. And they'd had one argument, one misunderstanding regarding a come-out that was no longer occurring. She couldn't really be so angry with him, not to do something like that, not after everything.

"You don't mean that," he said at last, sounding about as confident as he felt.

"Not yet," she allowed, somewhat reluctantly. "But even Mother Tibb  _asked_  what we thought of a job before she sent us out."

Again with the problem of  _asking_. Was that all that was bothering her? If he had to ask her opinion about everything that concerned her from this point onward, he saw no reason why not. At least this was a problem he could fix. "You said you wanted to go," he pointed out after a moment.

"I do," Kim said. "But I don't think you should come with me."

Richard tensed again. "Why not?"

"I'll have a harder time with Tom if you do. He won't be expecting no toffs, just me. If you show up, even dressed like a dustman, he'll muffle his clapper and I won't find out a thing."

Of course, that was a perfectly legitimate argument and was enough for him to understand that she was probably right. Perhaps it was his earlier reminder that Kim was, in fact, a young woman that had him feeling a little more protective of her.

"You can't go to that end of town alone."

"Why not? I  _lived_  there alone, for five years after Mother Tibb swung."

"But you haven't been on the streets for a year." Richard argued. "You're out of practice."

"You're more out of practice than I am," Kim retorted. "Especially seeing as you weren't ever  _in_  practice. I've got a better chance of not getting caught if I go alone."

Hunch chose that time to enter the library again, carrying a large bundle of clothing. Richard gave him only enough attention to direct him to the table before raiding his eyebrows at his ward. "Not in practice? While you were living on the back streets, I was nosing about in France, if you recall."

Kim sniffed. It seemed her way of knowing someone was right but not being willing to admit to it. "France ain't London."

Hunch choked at that, reminding the pair of his presence in the room. Kim turned to give Hunch the glare she had been giving him a second ago. "Well, it ain't."

"Isn't, Kim." Richard said mildly. That got the now-exasperated glare turned back to him.

"Ain't," she repeated, firmly. "I got to talk to Tom tonight; if I sound too flash he ain't going to be comfortable."

Again, a reasonable enough point. She was good at that. "Very well. Just don't slip in front of Aunt Agatha, for I won't be responsible for the consequences."

Kim nodded. "I won't. But you still ain't coming with me."

Richard was rather sure Kim was the person closest to himself when it came to stubbornness, and in this case that was not entirely good. He sighed. "Kim–"

She cut him off. "If you try, I won't go. And Tom won't talk to you alone, whatever he's got to say. If he's meant for you to come, he's have let us know somehow."

Her face was set, looking entirely defiant. Richard suppressed another sigh; this was _Kim_ , and for all her being dressed up like a docile young lady she was just as strong-willed as she ever was, and she wasn't going to back down.

He nodded at last, however reluctantly. "If you're determined. But I still don't like the idea of you crossing half of London on your own at that hour. Hunch and I will take you up High Holborn in the carriage."

Kim scoffed. "That's going to be inconspicuous for sure. Me, pulling up at Tom's door in a coach at midnight."

"Much as I'd like to do just that, I hadn't planned on it. I  _have_  done this sort of thing before, you know. We'll wait at the bottom of Threadneedle Street or somewhere nearby if you can think of a better place."

There was pause, and Richard half expected her to refuse or argue again. But she finally nodded, looking just about as reluctant as he had. He had to admit some disappointment – having briefly hoped to relive their previous adventures. But her points were well made, and in the mood she was in, he was lucky she had agreed to what she had. Biting down another sigh, he instructed her to try on the clothes Hunch had brought and focused on preparing for the night's event.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My favorite part of both of these arguments is that Richard had *just* told his aunt about how "he and Kim deal so well together".


End file.
